Cars dont feel quick anymore
Cars dont feel quick anymore
Author
Discussion

1bhp

Original Poster:

156 posts

205 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
When i was in my teens i always expected cars like m3's s4's scoobys and evos to be brutaly quick however having owend all of the said cars although i had a lot of fun it wasnt long before they just didnt feel quick, i have a audi s4 running around 350bhp and it just feels nippy now i know its quick but it just dosent feel it. it sucks tbh i feel like i need at least 400-450bhp or something very light to get the same buzz i once got in the past.

anybody else feel like this?

kambites

71,460 posts

250 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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Get something that's fast because it's small and light like a Superlight Caterham or a super bike.

Groober

775 posts

209 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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You need a motorbike my friend!

A CBR1000RR always feels mindbendingly fast.

Kentish

15,169 posts

263 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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kambites said:
Get something that's fast because it's small and light like a Superlight Caterham or a super bike.
yes

I had a blast in a dutton kitcar a while back with a tuned 1700 crossflow Kent engine and it felt brutally quick!

clarkey328is

2,220 posts

203 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
1bhp said:
When i was in my teens i always expected cars like m3's s4's scoobys and evos to be brutaly quick however having owend all of the said cars although i had a lot of fun it wasnt long before they just didnt feel quick, i have a audi s4 running around 350bhp and it just feels nippy now i know its quick but it just dosent feel it. it sucks tbh i feel like i need at least 400-450bhp or something very light to get the same buzz i once got in the past.

anybody else feel like this?
I find cars feel pretty slow after about a month of owning them, no matter what you have driven before.

mnkiboy

4,409 posts

195 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
Get a desperately slow car for day to day driving. My 1.0 Arosa makes my 130bhp diesel feel quick! Previously I got bored with a 300bhp car.

EvoSlayer

1,952 posts

214 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
1bhp said:
anybody else feel like this?
Yip, most things feel slooow... I find the thick end of 600hp keeps it interesting wink

...And to think, I thought my Audi Coupe GT used to be the fastest thing in the world with 136hp!

poo at Paul's

14,609 posts

204 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
Also, the 350hp S4 has about the same power to weight as maybe a 200hp saloon car when you were growing up...?

Plus it is true you get used to it. Here's a good tip if your car is feeling slow to you. Get someone else to drive it and you sit in the passenger seat. Feels a lot quicker for some weird reason!

CampDavid

9,145 posts

227 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
mnkiboy said:
Get a desperately slow car for day to day driving. My 1.0 Arosa makes my 130bhp diesel feel quick! Previously I got bored with a 300bhp car.
A family friend used to do this. His company cars changed over 6 month cycles. He'd have a 4x4 in the winter and something fast in the summer. Worked well.

It is all relative. My Rallye feels slow now days (I guess they just are) however it felt like a rocket ship after my partners 1.6 Megane

Jesus TF Christ

5,740 posts

260 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
mnkiboy said:
Get a desperately slow car for day to day driving. My 1.0 Arosa makes my 130bhp diesel feel quick! Previously I got bored with a 300bhp car.
The Daddy's 1.8 CVH auto Sierra estate makes my OH's 1.3 CVT Micra feel fast.

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

196 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
1bhp said:
When i was in my teens i always expected cars like m3's s4's scoobys and evos to be brutaly quick however having owend all of the said cars although i had a lot of fun it wasnt long before they just didnt feel quick, i have a audi s4 running around 350bhp and it just feels nippy now i know its quick but it just dosent feel it. it sucks tbh i feel like i need at least 400-450bhp or something very light to get the same buzz i once got in the past.

anybody else feel like this?
My heart bleeds for you.

RobCrezz

7,892 posts

237 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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As already said, try something like a Caterham or Elise (with a Honda conversion), the lower weight and closer to the ground will make it more exciting.

steviejasp

1,646 posts

194 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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Get a 4.5 Cerbera,
They are hilarious. I dont even miss my R1

Pints

18,451 posts

223 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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You'd be surprised how quick an MX5 without LSD feels. Especially in the damp. yikes

RemainAllHoof

80,041 posts

311 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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1bhp said:
m3's s4's scoobys and evos
The problem is that they are very capable cars and make high speed and acceleration easy to control. So you either need to drive cars with over 600bhp or cars with lower levels of grip that make you scared to drive hard.

chuno

1,178 posts

264 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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No matter what i've been driving, getting back into my VX220 NA never feels slow, even though it only has 170bhp. As mentioned, i think it's how low to the ground you are, the lack of sound insulation etc and the light weight.

Once you are bored of (and used to) going fast in a straight line in a big car, get something like a caterham/elise/VX220 and it also feels like you can go round the corners just as fast, which is always going to be a bigger test of the drivers skill! :-)

Motorrad

6,811 posts

216 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
Groober said:
You need a motorbike my friend!

A CBR1000RR always feels mindbendingly fast.
Agreed anything that can rotate your eyeballs due to sheer acceleration always feels fast.

RobM77

35,349 posts

263 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
Everyone's got their own definition of fast basically. I feel the same way as the OP about the M3, RS4, Imprezas etc - they've got a nice turn of speed, but I don't get excited by their straight line performance. This is why when after a saloon I generally don't go for the "M" version - they don't feel massively different to the other versions to me most of the time, although in the case of the last two M3s (particularly the E92), I'd pay the extra for the chassis. This is particularly true since I started racing single seaters - an M3 and a 325i are both nice road cars and I can tell one is faster than the other, but it's not OMG fast. For me, fast in a straight line starts at around 350bhp/tonne (a bit quicker than a Caterham R300), and straight line performance feels "brutal" (as the OP put it) at around 450/500bhp/tonne plus.

To be honest I've never known eye widening straight line performance though, and I've even driven cars that are similar to superbikes in a straight line from 0-100. It's braking and cornering that really impress me to be honest, for example cars like Radicals, single seaters etc. That's when I start enjoying performance.

To answer the OP directly, he needs to firstly go out in something like an R500, Noble M400 etc to get the straight line feeling, and then try something with slicks and wings to experience what I would call fun performance - performance that you look forward to sampling each time - even something like a Formula Renault or Radical SR4 feels massively quick compared to any road car (and they are!).

pilchardthecat

7,483 posts

208 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
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Big high-up saloon cars or hot hatches will never feel as quick as something smaller where your arse is two foot closer to the ground.

Get a proper sports car smile

Even better get one with a roof that comes off- - no hiding from the feeling of speed then

Pints

18,451 posts

223 months

Thursday 17th March 2011
quotequote all
doogz said:
Pints said:
You'd be surprised how quick an MX5 without LSD feels. Especially in the damp. yikes
Really?

You think so?
Actually, I know so.

You feeling especially sarcastic today?